The cloak of online anonymity could be lifted in parts of Europe as some governments seek to make it easier to identify people who use fake names to set up e-mail accounts and Web sites.

The German and Dutch governments have taken the lead, writing proposals that would make the use of false or fake information illegal in opening a Web-based e-mail account and require phone companies to save detailed records, including when customers make calls, where and to whom.

The measures, none of which have yet become law, would not outlaw having false or misleading names on e-mail or other Internet addresses _ only providing false information to Internet service providers.

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The aim, analysts say, is to make it easier for law enforcement officials to get information when they investigate crimes or terrorist attacks.

But Europeans have long cherished their privacy, railing against measures that would see personal information stored for commercial use or government examination.

"The people of Europe have a long record of fighting for their personal freedom, and are unlikely to accept such regulations being imposed upon them," said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant with London-based consulting group Sophos.

"No one disagrees with the need to take decisive action against terrorism and organized crime, but to introduce such restrictive surveillance on the general public and Internet companies _ without proper safeguards in place _ seems positively Orwellian."

The Germans and Dutch are moving well ahead of a 2009 EU deadline to implement its Data Retention directive, which calls for keeping names and addresses of subscribers, including those who use Web-based e-mail accounts.

Most of the big e-mail providers like Google's Gmail or Microsoft Corp.'s Hotmail don't require anything more than just a user name and a password to set up an account.

The EU directive calls on members to decide on an individual basis how long they will keep the information on file, within a range from six to 24 months.

The majority of Europeans oppose increased governmental authority to keep track of phone calls or Internet activities, according to a 2006 report by the German Marshall Foundation.

"It my choice, it's my business, it's my personal decision, if I want to have an anonymous account," said Look Christian, 42, who works at an Internet cafe in Berlin. "I understand that the police might want to hunt people down on the Internet, and I wish them luck, but it's not going to happen through anonymous Internet accounts."

Christian Spahr of Bitkom, the Berlin-based association that represents Germany's IT, telecommunications and new media industry, said the Justice Ministry's proposal has its merits, but said it could be in conflict with the country's constitution.

"The point is that, on one side, Internet service providers will have to store personal data for six months," he said, referring to customers' names, addresses and payment details. "E-mail service providers like Hotmail and others will have to log the IP addresses of their users."

The IP, or Internet Protocol, address is the unique number. Using that information can help pinpoint, for example, where an e-mail was sent.

"If police investigating a crime combine the data from Hotmail and the data from Deutsche Telekom, for example, they will be able to get the information on who sent an e-mail to whom," Spahr said.

Simon Hania, the technical director of Dutch ISP XS4ALL, points out that knowing who pays the bill does not mean knowing who uses an account.

"For each and every e-mail address we at least know who is paying for it, which is not necessarily to say who is actually using it," Hania said, adding that each account offers clients 25 possible e-mail addresses.

"Police will come to us and ask us 'What's the name and address with respect to this e-mail address?'" he said. "What we hand over is the information we have on record of who is subscribing to the service."

The German Justice Ministry did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment about the proposal.

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Associated Press writers Josh Ward in Berlin and Toby Sterling in Amsterdam contributed to this report.